Letter to the Editor
By Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan
Leadership is about making things happen for others. It is about facilitating and pushing others to their full potential. It is not about self-indulgence or self-promotion. That is not leadership but about leaders who misuse their mandate for personal gain.
Rightly, in the Iban language the term for leader is “pengulu” (in Malay it is spelled “penghulu”): meaning one who leads. The root word is “ulu” meaning “to lead”. It can also mean “interior”, “head water” or the handle of swords or knives depending on the context the word is used such as either as a noun or as an adjective.
In the Iban community, leaders are chosen from and among the people or the masses. In yesteryears, leaders such as “tuai rumah” (headman) either emerged from someone who wanted to lead or were chosen by those who wanted to be led by the former. The process of selection was seldom by majority voices but by consensus. This ensured that one who was chosen to lead has solid support behind him.
Parti Rakyat Sarawak or PRS, the only and the largest Iban dominated and led political party in Sarawak/Malaysia would be going back to its members to choose who would lead the party for the next three-years term. Several issues may be re-visited and would help guide its members to choosing the best among whom the party will take over as the third president.
First, how and on what would party members based their selections or voting on? Party branches would be as varied as from Balai Ringin in the south-west of Sarawak to the interior of Kapit in the north-east and into the middle of Sarawak such as the Bintulu region. It is generally understood that all members with party or government positions are basically regional (local) leaders. This is to say that they are confined to their own area and branch and are not known “fighters” for all others outside their respective enclave. A member contesting may be from a certain branch and the rest of the 37 branches do not really have much prior interaction with them.
Second, to allow party members to make informed decisions and therefore vote the best, open debates must be held and moderated by independent panels to ensure fairness to all contestants. Members need to be informed on the vision and mission of aspirants so that they can properly make assessments on the suitability of those contesting.
Third, losers must be gracious, accept defeats and not be emotional and personal. They must vacate their government positions as these were previously awarded them based on their positions in the party hierarchy. They must show a high level of integrity. They did not get their positions in government based on their personal merits and cannot argue that their appointments were the prerogative of higher up.
It must be re-iterated and to be clear that although PRS is an Iban party, their coming party elections have little to do with “Iban leadership” as a whole. It is about the leadership of PRS Ibans or Dayaks. The party is representing Ibans in only 11 areas of Sarawak legislative constituencies that were won by the party in 2021. It does not represent all Ibans in other constituencies that are “parked” in PBB’s Pesaka wing (appointed wing leaders), SUPP (Chinese dominated and Chinese-led) and PDP (Dayak dominated and Chinese-led). Moreover PRS is not connected to Ibans in areas where they may be found in constituencies that have other communities as the majority inhabitants/registered voters.
In the 2021, Sarawak elections data reported that of 82 Seats Sarawak Assembly, 21 have Iban majority voters. The 21 seats were distributed between PBB Pesaka (7), SUPP (2), PRS (9) and PDP (3). Technically, PRS may be referred to as an Iban-dominated political party, but they are not “the” Iban party with only 9 out of 21 Iban majority seats.
Furthermore, who or what represents the Iban in 61 other constituencies where they are a minority? This is an issue which has not been properly addressed by any Iban politician, either from PRS, Pesaka, SUPP or PDP. It would be interesting to put this issue for an Iban-dominated party such as PRS to consider and share their thoughts and answers. A debate in conjunction with the coming party election would provide a good platform to get this addressed.
Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan is currently a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and at the Institution of Malay Rulers Chair at UiTIM, as well as an Adjunct Professor of the Institute of Borneo Studies at UNIMAS.
This is the personal opinion of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of DayakDaily. Letters to the Editor may be lightly edited for clarity.
— DayakDaily
